A Dictionary of Occupational Terms Based on the Classification of Occupations used in the Census of Population, 1921.
ORDER III.—MINING AND QUARRYING OCCUPATIONS
Sub-order 3.—In Other Mines and Quarries
074.—Clay, Sand, Gravel-Pit Workers
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- banksman (clay, marlpit)
- as for banksman (072).
- barer
; burden man, burthenman (china clay) callower, callowman, feigher, navvy, navvying shifter, tirrer, topping shifter, uncallower
- as for barer (072).
- bottomer
; hanger-on, hitcher
- as for bottomer (quarries) (072).
- braker
; jigger, jinney boy, wheel boy, wheeler
- as for brakesman (072).
- braker (china clay), marl breaker
- breaks clay up into small pieces and feeds them into circular tank to be mixed with water, forming creamy mixture called "slurry."
- burden man, burthen man (china clay)
- see barer.
- callower, callowman
- see barer.
- chalk blaster
- breaks down large quantities of chalk from quarry face by blasting.
- clayman
- gets out from sides of pit clay and sand, which is then washed to bottom of pit by stream of water.
- clay worker
; marl worker
- a quarrier q.v. getting clay.
- crateman
- see riddler.
- crusher attendant, crusher feeder
; mill attendant, panman
- feeds and attends to crushing machine in which large pieces of chalk, clay, etc., are broken up.
- cutter (clay marl)
- see quarrier.
- digger (chalk, clay, flint, marl), gravel digger, sand digger
; excavator, lyncher
- digs chalk, clay, flint, sand or gravel, with pick and shovel.
- digger (coprolite)
- (i) digs "coprolite," i.e., fossilised excrement of animals (usually saurians and fishes), which is ground up for use as manure; sometimes also loads it into barrows, etc.;
- (ii) a man prospecting for "coprolite."
- digger (fossil)
- digs for fossils in chalk, etc., with pick and shovel.
- drawer
- see trammer.
- dresser, clay dresser
- (i) adds water to clay, etc., making creamy paste or "slurry," which is then run off and allowed to settle in "strips" or "convers," the heavier impurities being left behind;
- (ii) picks out impurities from material without making "slurry," see sorter;
- (iii) inspects working places and travelling roads and makes them ready for workers.
- driver, drover, horse driver, pony driver
- as for horse driver (072).
- excavator
- see digger (chalk, clay, flint, marl).
- faceman
- see quarrier.
- fat boy, fat lad
; greaser, nipper, wheel boy
- greases axles of wagons, and does general odd jobs in quarries.
- feigher
- see barer.
- filler, chalk filler, clay filler
; loader
- as for filler (072).
- flint boy, flint picker
- removes top flints from loaded chalk wagons.
- fossil sorter
- sorts fossils taken out of mines, pits or quarries according to kinds.
- gaulter
- digs "gault," a kind of marl, at foot of chalk strata with pick and shovel and loads into trucks.
- getter (clay, marl, etc.)
- see quarrier.
- getter (fuller's earth)
- (i) (open quarries) digs fullers earth by hand, i.e., with pick and shovel, for use in cosmetics, etc.;
- (ii) (mines) miner (fuller's earth) ; picks out fuller's earth or stone from overlaying strata of coal seam with pick and bar; shovels into tubs for conveyance to crushing machinery; used for dusting mine to render coal dust less inflammable.
- gravel dredger
- gets gravel from river or sea bed by "placer" mining method or by alluvial mining, generally with a digging line of buckets, worked by steam engine.
- greaser
- see fat boy.
- grinder
- (i) (china clay) lines pan of grinding machine with small pieces (pavers) of china stone, which have been broken up by ore crusher, and fixes other large blocks (runners) to revolving arms, sets machine in motion, and empties material when ground to powder;
- (ii) (quarry sand) controls levers of grinding machine for grinding sandstone, gravel or other stone, or clay; shovels and throws sand and lumps into feed hopper, when this is not automatically fed by chute or conveyor.
- hanger-on
- see bottomer.
- haulier
- see trammer.
- hewer
- see quarrier.
- hitcher
- see bottomer.
- holer
- see quarrier.
- jigger, jinney boy
- see braker.
- knot hole man
- Northamptonshire, Cambridgeshire, and Huntingdonshire term for clay, quarry or pit worker q.v.
- labourer (ballast pit)
- digs sand or gravel for ballast with pick and shovel, loads it into trucks, etc.; washes material to remove impurities; sometimes also sifts or screens it.
- labourer (clay, marl, sand)
- general term for any unskilled worker employed in or about pit, mine, or quarry, loading, digging, wheeling, etc.
- loader
- see filler.
- lyncher
- see digger.
- marl worker
- see clay worker.
- mill attendant
- see crusher attendant.
- miner
- see quarrier.
- miner (fireclay)
- gets fireclay from coal or fireclay mines in manner similar to coal mining, see hewer (042), coal cutting machine driver (042); blows down with explosive, picks and bars down, cuts by machine, etc., according to circumstances; fireclay occurs interstratified with coal.
- miner (fuller's earth)
- see getter fuller's earth).
- miner's mate
- gets material out after miner or getter q.v. has won it, i.e., lifts throws or shovels material into trucks, pushes trucks to siding, may Split large blocks or lumps with wedge and hammer.
- navvy, navvying shifter
- see barer.
- nipper
- see fat boy.
- panman
- see crusher attendant.
- picker, dirt picker, picker on bank
- see sorter.
- pitman
; shaftman
- attends to pumps by which china clay in suspension in water is pumped up from mines or quarries; also attends to shafts up which clay is pumped; keeps valves of pumps clear and in good order.
- pit worker
- see quarry worker.
- pumper, pump attendant, pumpman
- as for pumpman (073).
- putter
- see trammer.
- quarrier
; cutter, faceman, getter, hewer, holer, miner, quarryman
- gets material from pit or quarry face by pick and shovel, or by blasting; if explosive is used, bores hole, tamps down charge and, after explosion, brings down loosened material with picks; sometimes also loads into trucks.
- quarrier (china clay)
- removes topsoil ("overburden") with pick and shovel, and washes out china clay by letting streams of water flow down face of quarry, producing solution of milky consistency.
- quarrier (china stone)
- gets china stone by drilling with hand or machine drill, or by blasting.
- quarryman
- (i) see quarrier;
- (ii) see quarry worker.
- quarry worker
; pit worker, quarryman
- general term for workers employed as getters, labourers q.v. or in any other capacity in clay, marl or other pits.
- riddler
; crateman, screener, screenman
- riddles, or sifts, sand or gravel by shovelling it against fine-meshed sloping sieve, sometimes called a "grizzly," to separate gravel, clay, stones and other coarse material, sometimes further designated according to material worked m, e.g., sand riddler, gravel screener.
- runner-out
- runs trams or wagons; from quarry face to bottom of incline.
- sand man (china clay pit)
- digs out sand which settles at bottom of "slurry" tanks and shovels into barrows; wheels barrows to tip.
- screener, screenman
- see riddler.
- selector
- see sorter.
- shaftman
- see pitman.
- shearer-out (clay, marl)
- removes overburden with pick and shovel; drives in crow bar or wedge and shears out face of marl or clay quarry, to be shovelled away.
- sorter, sorter on bank
- dirt picker, picker, picker on bank, selector; examines clay, especially fireclay, as it comes from pit or quarry and picks out impurities, such as stones, nodules of iron pyrites, pieces of wood, etc.; cf. clay dresser.
- tipper
- operates tipping lever to tip contents of wagons, tubs, bogies, etc., at crusher hopper, railway trucks, dump, etc.
- tirrer
- see barer.
- topping shifter
- see barer..
- trammer
; drawer, haulier, putter
- as for trammer (072).
- uncallower
- see barer.
- washer (gravel)
- cleans gravel by washing, usually in machine; shovels gravel into machine, where gravel is not fed by hopper or conveyor; controls water supply and operates machine.
- washer (stopes)
- washes china clay out of vein in pit by drenching clay with water so that a "slurry" or paste is produced, which can be pumped or run into settling tanks.
- wheel boy
- (i) see fat boy;
- (ii) wheels clay in barrows, etc.; (ii) see braker.
- wheeler
- see braker.
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From:
A Dictionary of Occupational Terms Based on the Classification of Occupations used in the Census of Population, 1921,
Ministry of Labour, 1927. Digitised by Peter Christian, August, 2016. This text is in the Public Domain. 